Dodgers ink Bedard to Minor League contract

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers have signed veteran left-hander Erik Bedard to a Minor League contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training.

Bedard, 36, went 4-6 with a 4.76 ERA in 15 starts during the 2014 season for Tampa Bay, which was run by new Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. Bedard was designated for assignment by the Rays in late July.

Bedard's best season was 2007, when he went 13-5 for Baltimore and finished fifth in the American League Cy Young Award voting. But since 2009, Bedard has been plagued by shoulder problems and he missed the entire 2010 season.

Bedard provides veteran starting depth for a rotation of Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Brandon McCarthy and Brett Anderson. Bedard joins younger starters Mike Bolsinger, Zach Lee, Joe Wieland and Chris Reed, among others.